The blaze, which spread from an area near the junction of Highways 243 and 74 on July 15 and headed through the Apple Canyon and Bonita Vista areas near Idyllwild, remained 92 percent contained Friday, and officials anticipated 100 percent containment by Tuesday.

Authorities did not disclose much more on the cause of the blaze, other than to say it wasn't sparked from a power pole or utility malfunction on a public street, but rather from equipment on private property.

The fire forced more than 6,000 residents to evacuate, including those in Mountain Center, Idyllwild, Fern Valley and Pine Cove. It destroyed seven homes and 15 other structures.

Fire crews expect to remain on scene for days to come as they find vegetation that continues to burn.

"There's still a lot of heat in that fire," said Cal Fire Capt. Julie Hutchinson. "It's not growing, but there are still a lot of hot spots."

And while it has dwindled to a blackened stretch of smoldering stumps and trees, fire officials this week remained concerned that a similar fire could happen in San Bernardino County.

"The key is the potential is there due to the conditions of our grass and our brush and our timber," Hutchinson said.

For San Bernardino County fire Battalion Chief Marc Peebles, one of the first incidents to raise his concerns over the potential for more large-scale fires wasn't the Mountain Fire, but the Powerhouse Fire in Los Angeles County.

Between the dry winter, hotter temperatures and drier vegetation, the Green Valley blaze grew to more than 30,000 acres and forced the evacuation of about 3,000 people in the Lake Hughes and Lake Elizabeth areas.

"They saw fire behavior there that is indicative of later in the year when fuels are drier," Peebles said.

Firefighters kept that in mind when they raced to the Silverwood Fire in Summit Valley on Thursday afternoon.

"It had quite a bit of fire growth potential," Peebles said.

Two hundred firefighters from San Bernardino County, Cal Fire and the U.S. Forest Service jumped on the blaze so early, they were able to keep it from spreading beyond 75 acres, authorities said. No evacuations were necessary.

Since hotter temperatures and Santa Ana wind conditions are just weeks away, fire officials urged residents to take another look at the defensible space around their homes, make sure they heed evacuations if they come and have emergency plans in place.

"This is a good opportunity to go out and reassess that as we go out into those really hot months of the summer and fall," Hutchinson said.